Coronavirus (and other infectious diseases) & Travel

Page Updated: April 5, 2023

While the travel landscape has settled quite a bit, it is forever changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to value you as members of our extended family so your safety, security, and overall experience have been, and always will be, our top priority.

Our Approach

We travel to remote areas where becoming severely ill may put you, our traveler, quite far from facilities that can manage your care. Our ultimate goal is to prevent severe illness while on our trips such that if you present any COVID-like symptoms, you do not require immediate evacuation for intensive treatment. We periodically check the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ website, and their February 10, 2023 update continues to say the chance of severe illness is greater for those who are unvaccinated even if they have had a previous infection. As time goes on, we will have more information about the nuances of when you are least at risk for severe illness so that we can begin to look at adjusting our policy. For now, we still require all our travelers and leaders to have completed the primary vaccination series for COVID-19. We do not require booster vaccines for COVID-19.

Our Recommendations

Realizing that variants have been highly transmittable, and many people are not masking in public, indoor settings, it’s nearly impossible to have an infection-free trip. To miminize the chance that you are the vector for disease transmission, we recommend that you

• Isolate before your trip to minimize any infections before you depart.
• Wear well-fitting masks (1) during your pre-trip isolation time, (2) during your flights and transportation while traveling to/from your destination, and (3) during your trip as much as possible, especially when indoors with others.
• Wash your hands frequently (especially if touching your face). Use refillable hand sanitizer options to eliminate plastic waste.
• Purchase travel insurance that covers you for any COVID-related costs should you contract COVID before or during your trip. See our Travel Insurance webpage for more information.
• Familiarize yourself with quarantine and isolation procedures for your destination so you have a plan. See our What Happens if I Get COVID document to help you plan ahead.

Following these recommendations will minimize spreading an illness that may have COVID-like symptoms.

Keeping Up

We work hard to keep you up to date so you can more easily plan for your destination country’s requirements. However, it is ultimately you who must be current on any requirements based on your travel route including, but not limited to, layover locations.

Country Entry Requirements

The nuances of each country’s requirements are less frequently updated, which we hope means they are changing less frequently, but please check more than one of the following resources:

• STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) – US Citizens should enroll to get travel updates, which may or may not include COVID-related changes.
• US Embassy for your destination country and your flight route – US Citizens should check these periodically as their trip approaches for entry requirements, insurance requirements, and specific COVID-related requirements.
• Sherpa and Airheart – These tools can help you navigate travel requirements by destination, but always verify them!
• Airline checklists – Go through the travel checklist most airlines provide to make sure you have met all your travel requirements and download their app to get updates and important messages. Verify this when you check in for your flight.

We want to keep you informed and prepared for anything before, during, and after your trip, so please help us minimize the spread of COVID (and similar illnesses), so we can remain able and excited to share the world’s wonders with you!

Warm regards,

Gina, Elizabeth, Adam, Lauren, and Patti
The Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris Team